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'DHTML' is a (rather outdated) term for 'dynamic HTML'. It's essentially HTML with JavaScript that changes the appearance – and sometimes the content – of the page. Cool kids nowadays rather talk about 'Ajax' (asynchronous JavaScript and XML), which is a form of DHTML.

For most web professionals, 'DHTML' screams '1990s'. Forget about it. There are tons of accessibility problems associated with DHTML, too.

Learn HTML properly. That's the foundation of everything on the Web. Then learn how to use CSS along with your HTML to make your pages aesthetically pleasing. JavaScript would be the next step, to add some interactive features. Parallel to that, study the topics of usability and accessibility, to give you a perspective on how to use features like CSS and JavaScript.

XML is more a data storage format, and it's not really meant for Web pages. XHTML is XML with predefined elements to mimic HTML. Look at the XHTML vs HTML FAQ to learn more, and to see that it's not really worth bothering with right now.

A server-side scripting language (like PHP) plus knowledge about relational database and SQL are the next stepping stone, which will allow you to to much more than static pages and client-side scripts.

For larger-scale 'enterprise' applications you will need to look into either Java/J2EE or Microsoft's .NET platform.

Thanks for all the replies. I figured I would have to learn them separately but just wondered if I should be learning how to use them together. I do like the idea of ditching the archaic DHTML and looking into Ajax.

'DHTML' is a (rather outdated) term for 'dynamic HTML'. It's essentially HTML with JavaScript that changes the appearance – and sometimes the content – of the page. Cool kids nowadays rather talk about 'Ajax' (asynchronous JavaScript and XML), which is a form of DHTML.

I've noticed the term DHTML coming back into usage a bit lately on various blogs/articles, usually relating to menus.